Lock



J. A. SHAFER May 31, 1932.

LOCK

I5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1928 May 31, 1932.

J. A. SHAFER 1,861,032

LOCK

Filed May 26, 1928 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 0444.5 351 ,11. 6mm W May 31, 1932. I A. SHAFER LOCK Filed May 26, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Snow doc Patented May 31, 1932 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES A.,SHAFER, OFEAST CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL MALLEABLE AND STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO LOCK Application filed May 26, 1928. Serial No..280,668

The present invention has been evolved in connection with the development of a lock for holding closed the discharge doors of railway hopper cars and for convenience.

of railway use and yet economy of manufac-,

turing'costs is a matterof importance on account of the large number of locks used.

The doors must be held closed not only when w the doors are new and more or less well fitted but also after they are worn anddistorted in use. It is desirable, therefore, that the lock shall designed to hold the door effectively locked in closed position under all conditions which are likely to exist. The invention provides in the preferred embodiment thereof a lock: which operates with a wedging action in a manner to insure efiec tive looking with the possibility of forcing the door closed by means of the operation ofthe lock. The operation of the wedging means is such that if,"because of distortion of'parts or otherwise, the closed position of the door varies somewhat from its normal or original completely closed position, it can, nevertheless, be securely locked.

The present invention provides an effec tive reliable lock convenient of operation and one which'can be economically manufactured and expeditiously applied.

The nature and objects of the invention will be better understood from a description of the particular selected embodiment thereof for the purpose of which description referen'ce should be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof and in which- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a hopper car with a lock embodying the invention applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a central transverse section of the car shown'in Fig. 1,

Figure 3 is adetailside V elevation, partly insectiomof said lock,

Figured is a detail horizontal section on the. line IVIV of Fig. 3,

Figure 5 is a vertical section on the line VV,of Fig.3,

F igure 6 is an end elevation of Fig. 3,' as viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow VI in Fig. 3,

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the latch lock retainer,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of the latch lo'ck,*and I Figure 9 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but with the outside housing plate removed, the raised positionand the door" latch in the partly open.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is illustrated a hopper car, the hoppers 5 of which are closed by discharge doors 6 extending transversely of the car. The doors are arranged in pairs, the two doors of each pair being:

connected by a door spreader 7 at their lower edges, which spreaderis engaged by locks for holdingthe doors" 8 at either end thereof tightly closed.

The lock shown for the purposes of illust-rating the principles of the invention comprises a two-part housing with a latchlO slidably mounted therein and engageable with a suitable flange 11 of the doorspreader 7 and serving as a keeper. The flange 11 may conveniently be formed to lie at an acute angle to the plane of the door, as shown in Fig.

3, but this is not essential. The door spreader is suitably fitted around the marginal flange of the door as will be readilyunderstoodr Theinnerpart 12 of the housing is formed with three bosses'13 whichextend against and space the body of the housing from the side wall of the car body. The outer part 1 is formed with a boss 15 which'alines with the-uppermost boss 13 and projects into a recess 16, in the inner housing part 12, and with bosses 15. which aline with the two other bosses 13. These bosses are centrally apertured to receive the rivets 17 for securing thehousing parts together and to the wall of the hopper. A projecting flange 35 on' theouter housing member 14 engaging a recess36 in the inner housing member and hereinafter described acts to aline and space the housing members. I

The latch 10 comprises a central web 20,

are the ones which bear against the guideways and resist the stresses of use tending to open the doors when the parts are in lockedmelatitih. The guideways 25 and 26v are preferablycurved at their upper ends in; order to inerea e the gather and permit preliminary g caitch1g ofthe door with the door farther from, itstightly closed position than would be possible with straight guidewa s.

Itwill be noted that the. operative face of the latch wherei t engages the door spreader,

asindicated; at 28 lies at an acute, angle to the (l re'ct' onpf movement ofthe latch in the 25, 26; By this. arrangement when the eorapproa'chesfclosed position, but isstill n a substantial distance, the flange ll of gjdomfjs readercan be engaged by the face of tch l and can, therefore bese in this position or it can be forced totightly closed position by forcing thelatch.

t v e o'cking" of the door in tlghtlyfclosed even if. parts are somewhat distorted cannot be obtained by, a lock. adaplt ed to. old. the door in one position only.

'la, t@l fandkeeper are formed to provide an ex tndedfbearing to insure an effectiveengage;

mentiwhen the door is locked.

The Iowerend ofthe'latch lomay coni ven i' be formedon a curvesuch. that as is closed the latch will be lift d auton'igtically: by engagement of the flange l1 withithe curve lower edge. I I 7 'I is desirable to provide suitable. means the 'latch 1O niay beforcibly retract e and forcibly moved to locking osition whereby the'doormaybe forcedto ully closejd position using the lock parts in the operation. A s sh'own,- the latch is formed witha suitable apertured extension 29 and the inner housing mel'n ber 12 isformed with a number of ledges 29fwhereby a pinchbar such as isordinarily carriedf by operatives, may be introduced throu h the extension and intoengagement with 51 v closed positio n, as suggested in Fig. 5. The

twoipbs fions. of the pl nch bar indicated in dot and "dash lines illustrate respectively the docking andreleasingoperations in whichthe trunnipns and the right side of the lower,

dwiiwalfdly thus using the lockas a wedging for completely closing the, door. The I arrangement makes possible an efIecomloc king position to release the door 1: ledges toforcelthe latch to and from bar is fulcrumed for successive movements against successive ledges 29. It will be noted that in both operations the operative stands in a safe position at the side of the car and reaches straight inwardly. Furthermore his pinch bar engages. the relatively stationary lock i nd not the swinging door. He is, therefore, in no danger when dumping the load.

In order that the housing may be substantially dirt" and Weather proof toprotect the operatingparts, the outer housingmember 14 is provided with an inwardly directed marginal flange 14' extending around its upper portion from the point 14" at the right in Fig. 3 to the lower left hand rivet posion. an n aging gain he nter ce the inner housing member. At the lowerend f the. g idewayw n he Qu nhous ngm m t, a 1 1311 6 91 is p ov ded o P rm t.

r ndwater o cape- A suitable locking means isprovided for holding the latch in door locking positioni As sh w al tch l c 0i ho nz n Per pec iv l. ig. smova e an versely o theh u ing, the inner face of; this; latch lock and the dja entdge f e atch 1 beingpr vided with teeth 31; 32; which interengage to hold:

th jlatch firmly in any one f severali 811i j ed positions. A suit b e gu d w y' or e ath= k3 s erd d: y providing the.

ute n s name-mbenlt with an inwardly direetediflange 35-, asv best shown in Figs. 4,.

nd The n r nd e.- flang p oi cts ntoa cessior ed t 6; nthe-inner ho sing.

member 12.. he. atch 10 1;:30 is. f I HQdAIt its inner end with oppositely disposed; lugs,

wh h ngage t ps formed inv theplanaof theweb ofi the housing 14;;i11 theoutel: ends of:

theguideway 35 to prevent complete removal? whenv the latch; lock is withdrawn to. unlock. thela'tchlO. The latch, lock 30 is, therefore, well housed; for movement transversely of. the

plangyof the housing and ofuthe latch 11) for gagemen nd disengagement, with the teeth 32 of said latch.

. In order; to facilitate forcibly retracting the, latch lock 30, recesses; 40. are formedi therein, forengagement by: a. pinch; bar as in.- dicated indotand dashlines. in Fig;,4. The pinch; banmay be engagedjin, first oneand thentheother recess. for, two successive op.- e a on ozr t actqt e. lat h.lock'.. A projection 41 is showninFigs. 3 and; 4' aszformed; on the housingzwhichimay serve as. afulcrum for the. per 'aa.

The ends of the teeth 31 and 32 of the-latch lock; 30; and;of; the latch 10521176 ,chamit'eredv as ndieated lmostelearly at 31' i11.Fig.,8-and 32 1n Flg. 9 to facilitatepushing the latch lock into 'loclgingqposition when; the parts. are brought into approximate a ali'nement.

proportioned as to give thejdesired accuracy of adjustment of the final closed position of the 'doors. V

Preferably retaining means is provided to prevent the possibility of the latch lock 30 jarring out of locking position. As shown, a latch lock retainer 43 is slidably mounted in ways 44 formed in the outer face of the housing to move to and from position overlying the end of the latch lock 30. As shown, this retainer is movable vertically and gravitates to lock retaining position. In its lowermost position its lower end engages a projec- I tion 45, Figs. 8 and 8, formed on the latch lock 30. When it is lifted and the latch lock 30 is retracted, its lower end will drop into a slot or notch 46 in the upper face of the latch lock to retain the latter in retracted position. The'outer wall of the recess 46, however, is tapered as may be seen in Fig. 6 so that if the latch lock 30 is, in fact, forcibly pushed inwardly without manually lifting the retaining member, said retaining member will be automatically lifted by riding up on said tapered wall of the recess.

The retaining member and the latch lock maybe marked with the wordsLift and Pull respectively to indicate the operations necessary in opening the car door, and the latch may be marked with the words Pinch bar to indicate the position of inserting a bar for operating thelatch.

The several parts of the lock interengage in such a way that none of the moving parts can be removed after the lock is riveted to the hopper by the three securing rivets.

This will be better understood from a .description of the manner of assembly. When assembling the lock the retaining member 43 is first introduced into the guideways 44: in the outer housing member, the latch lock 30 is inserted from the rear into the same housinner housing member are assembled and the lock parts connected and secured to thehopper wall by means of the rivets 17 The foregoing description is illustrative merely'andis not intended as defining the limits of the invention.

I claim:

I 1. In a hopper car having a hopper and transversely extending discharge doors, in combination, a transverse spreader connecting the doors and projecting beyond the lateral end thereof, and a lock comprising a housing secured to the outer face of the hopper in spaced relation thereto and a latch in said housing engageable with the projecting end of said spreader bar to lock the door in closed position. said latch and housing being formed respectively with an extension and a series of ledges to be engaged bya pinch bar whereby said latch can be forced to and from looking position, substantially as described.

2. In a lock for the discharge door of a' hopper car, the combination with a keeper to be carried by the door and presenting alatch engaging surface, of a latch to be carried by the car body and movable bodily-at an acute angle tothe face of the keeper, to engage thesame, substantially as described.

3. In 'a lock for the discharge door of a hopper car,"the combination with a keeper to be carried by the door and presenting a latch engaging surface lying at an acute angle to "r the plane of the door, of a latch-to be carried by the car body and movable bodily .at an acute angle to engage the face of the keeper,

substantially as described.

4. In a lock for the discharge door of a hopper car, the combination with a" keeper to be carried by the dooran'd' presenting a latch engaging surface, of a housing to be carried by the car body, anda latch movable in said housing on a line lying at an'acute angle to the latch engaging surface of the keeper and engageable therewith to lock the door in closed position, substantially as described.

5. In a lockfor the discharge door ofa tension and a series of ledges to be engaged by a pinch bar whereby said latch can be forced longitudinally against the-angularly positioned face of thekeeper to force the door to closed position, substantiallv as de-- scribed.

6. In a lock for the discharge door of a hopper car, the combination with a keeper to be carried by the door and presenting-a latch engaging surface lying at, an acute angle to the plane of the door, of a housing to be carried by the car body, a latchmovable in said housing on a line lying at an acute angle, to the latch engaging surface of the keeper and .engageable therewith to lock the door in closed position, said latch and housing be-v ing formed respectively with an extension and a series of ledges to be engaged by a pinch bar whereby said latch can be forced longitudinally against the angularly posi- 12o tioned face of the keeper to force the door to closed position, and a lockingdevice en gageable with said latch for holding it in one of several adjusted positions, substantially as described.

7. In a lockfor the discharge door of a hopper car, the combination with a keeper I Q .12. In alock oflth'e character described, the

to-thelhtclr engagingsur-face of the keeper andeitgageable therewithto lockthe door in closed osition",,sa id-1atch and housing being; form j frespectively with an extension and engaging. surface lying. at an acute angle to the plane of the door, of a housing to be carriedibyg the car'body, a latch movable in said housing on a line lying at an acute angle to the latch engaging surface of the keeper and engageable therewith to lock the door in closed. position, said latch and housing being formed respectively with an extension and a series of ledgesto be engaged by a pinch bar whereby said latch can be forced longitudinally againstthe angularly positioned face of the keeper to force the door to closed positioma locking member movable in said housing transversely of'said latch, said locking member and latch having inter-engaging teeth forlocking. the latch in any of several positions, and a-retaining. member normally gravitating'to position to prevent retraction of the-locking. member, substantially as de scribed.

94111 a lockfor the discharge door of a hopper car, the combination with a keeper to be carried by the door and presentinga latch engaging surface of a housing comprising a pair of mating sectionsrhaving opposed inwardly facing guideways, and a latch comprising a web memberhaving lateral projections-engaging theguideways and having an end portion projecting beyond the housing toengage the keeper, substantially as described.

10. A lock of the character defined in the preceding: claim wherein the guideways are curved to increase the gather of the latch during its operating movement, substantially as described.

11; In a: lock for the discharge door of a hopper car, the combination with a keeper to be carried bythe door andpresenting a latch engaging surface, of a housing comprising a pair of mating sections formed to provide a guideway in the plane'of the housing for a latch and a guideway transversely to the and alatch lock'in the second guideway coopcrating with said latch to lock the same in operative position, substantially asdescribed.

combination with a kee er to be carried by a door, of a latch mova le by gravity at an angle to the face of the keeper to provide a wedging action thereagainst, andmeans for locking the latchin any oneof a plurality of positionssubs'tantiallyas described.

13. In a lock of the character described,

the combination with a keeper to becar-ried by a'door of a-latch movable at an angle to the face of the keeper and a housing for said" latch, said latch and housing having abutments to be engaged by a pinch bar for forcing said latch to and from looking position,

substantially as described.

14. In alock for the discharge door of a hopper car, the combination with a keeper of a housingand a latch movable in said housing, said. housingand latch having abutments" adapted to be'cngaged by apinch bar inserted at substantially a right angle to'the side of the car to actuate saidlatch, substantially as described. I I

15. In a. lock for the'discharge door of a hopper car, the combination with a keeper of a housing and a latch movable in said housing, said housing. comprisingtwo face plates, one of which is provided with a flange extending= around the upper portion thereof to exclude weather and dirt, substantially as destraight line at an angle to the plane of the door to engage and secure said door in closed position and means for locking said latch in any one of a plurality of door engaging positions.

In testimony whereof, I havesi ed my name to this specification this 23rc day of i May, 1928.

JAMES A. SHAFER. 

